A New Light
by stavie93
Summary: How did Sawyer go from hating Juliet to asking her to stay on the island? One-shot set during the time flashes.


**Author's Note:** This is for **Alise** who suggested a story set during the time jumps a long time ago. Sorry it took so long to get a good idea going! I hope you like it!

This takes place between the very first flash and their shootout in the canoe.

 **Disclaimer:** If Lost were mine we'd have a spinoff consisting solely of Suliet's time in Dharma.

Please read and review!

And don't forget to let me know if you've got a Suliet idea you'd like to see in a story!

 **A New Light**

Frogurt was yelling, complaining about everyone and called out Bernard for not being able to start a fire. Hell, at least the old man was trying. Sawyer thought he'd like to see Mr. Frozen Yogurt try to light a fire with two sticks.

"Ease up Frogurt." Sawyer said.

"It's Neil. You inbred."

It was clear to Sawyer that the skinny weasel needed a fist to the jaw. He took a step towards the other man, but was stopped by a hand on his arm. He looked down at the hand near his elbow and followed it up until he came to the face of Juliet Burke. Her touch was gentle yet strong and oddly calming.

"Calm down, Neil." He heard Juliet say. "We're gonna get through this."

And then Frogut was screaming again and Juliet's hand was still on his arm and why didn't he just brush her off and punch _Neil_ in the face?

Frogurt yelled something about fire and immediately received a flaming arrow to the chest. Sawyer would have laughed had he not been scared shitless as more arrows came their way and Frogurt's screaming body fell over in pain.

"RUN!" Someone shouted. Sawyer thought it might have been him, but he wasn't sure.

Everyone on the beach sprinted for the trees. Sawyer and Juliet ended up going in different directions. Vincent barked and pulled on his leash nearly dragging the person on the other end behind him.

After dodging arrows, jumping over burning bodies, and helping those he could Sawyer finally made it to the backside of a tree. An arrow stuck in the bark narrowly missing his head before he could even catch his breath. He chanced a look around the tree in time to see a man fall in front of Juliet an arrow sticking out of his chest. Sawyer watched as the blonde bent down and began scooping sand onto the flames.

Sawyer wasn't sure why, it wasn't too long ago that he would have loved to taser Juliet just like she did to him, but he knew he couldn't stand to see her falling over with a flaming arrow stuck in some part of her anatomy. He ran out from behind the tree and managed to get to her without getting himself hit with a flaming projectile. He grabbed her arm.

"Come on! He's dead!" Sawyer shouted. Juliet stopped mid-scoop and just looked at him. He pulled her to her feet. "Come on! You wanna be dead too?" They started for the trees, but they didn't get far before Juliet looked back at the man she thought she could save. "There's nothing you coulda done. We gotta go now!" Sawyer yelled and pulled her forwards.

They found momentary safety in the trees before the sky lit up and everything around them changed once again. Suddenly it was daylight. Those that were left, Juliet, Sawyer, Miles, Daniel, and Charlotte, walked aimlessly through the jungle trying to figure out what to do next.

Sawyer's mind kept drifting to his one blonde companion. Could he have been wrong about her? Juliet tasered him, kept him in a cage, tortured him, and threatened Kate. She infiltrated their beach camp while working for Ben and Jack at the same time. He was fairly certain she was a cold hearted bitch.

But she shot Pickett so they could get away and she seemed just as upset as he was when the freighter went up in smoke. She had been able to stop him from beating the hell out of Frogurt with just one touch. He still couldn't figure out how that had worked. She risked her life during the flaming arrows to save a man who had no chance at survival. She somehow didn't seem so bad anymore, but none of it added up. Whose side was she on?

The flashes continued. In the jungle with the 1950's others Juliet surprised him again. He hadn't thought she was capable of the amount of emotion he saw in her when her hand was threatened. He knew the fear in her eyes was real and her screams of "NO!" made him want to do anything in his power to stop them from mutilating her.

They finally made it out of the 50's with all of their limbs intact and a new member in their group. Locke had showed up and although Sawyer wasn't sure he trusted the man completely he did seem to know what he was doing. They flashed again. The sun quickly became the moon and none of them were sure what time of day it was supposed to be anymore. Locke suggested they make camp for the night or at least until it became light again, whether that meant a new day dawning or another flash. No one opposed the idea and they made themselves comfortable between a large rock face and the creek.

Charlotte and Daniel settled themselves near each other. Miles leaned up against the rock wishing he could find something at least similar to a pillow. Locke, Sawyer, and Juliet sat around a small fire. After several long moments of silence Juliet got up abruptly and headed for the jungle. Everyone was too caught up in their thoughts to notice except for Locke. "Don't go far." He told her without looking up. "We should stay close by in case another flash comes." She nodded although she knew he couldn't see it.

Juliet walked aimlessly through the jungle. She just needed some time to herself to process what was happening. She couldn't believe she'd put all her faith in Jack just to have him leave her in the end. Now, not only was she still stuck on the island, but she was also stuck jumping through time. Men. She was pretty sure she'd had enough of them to last the rest of her lifetime. She kept walking, treading carefully over rocks and fallen tree limbs. She decided she'd only go a little further before heading back. Locke was right. They needed to stick together.

The trees suddenly cleared and she found herself in a place that looked familiar, but she couldn't place it. The island seemed different in the dark and for all she knew she could have been in some prehistoric time before the landmarks she knew existed.

The sky lit up blinding Juliet and making her head hurt. Her hands rushed to her temples, her eyes closed tight and she cringed. The pain gradually faded along with the light and she opened her eyes again. She found herself behind a bush that she was sure hadn't been there a moment ago. She moved to take a step around it when she heard her own voice.

 _"Sorry about what?"_ Other Juliet asked. _"Oh my god."_ She breathed a moment later.

Juliet felt sick. She knew where she was now. And of course the island had to flash to this exact moment when she was standing there. She peered through the bush and there he was, Ben.

 _"Oh my god!"_ Her other self said again, louder this time, as she raced to Goodwin's body.

Tears filled Juliet's eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She watched herself kneel next to Goodwin's body. She could almost feel the cold stillness of his face as her other self touched him.

 _"What happened?"_ She cried and Juliet's head began to spin. No. No. No. This couldn't be happening. She couldn't handle it a second time. She could barely handle it the first.

 _"You're asking me why?!"_ Ben yelled. Juliet couldn't watch anymore. Suddenly the sky lit up again and she'd never been more thankful. _"How can you possibly not understand that you're mine?!"_ The sentence faded into the flash, but Juliet had heard it. The phrase churned her stomach just as it had before.

When the light disappeared and the island quit spinning Juliet found herself on her knees in the grass. She choked back a sob as a few tears escaped. She shouldn't have let him go. She shouldn't have loved him. She shouldn't have trusted Ben.

Slowly she stood and regained her composure. She wiped the tears off her face and stepped around the bush. There was no sign of herself, Ben, or, thankfully, Goodwin. She took in a deep breath and pointed herself in the direction of the trees. She needed to get back to their camp.

It was after the second flash that Sawyer decided he'd look for Juliet. With time skipping again they needed to stick together and keep moving or risk running into more people they didn't need to see. He went off through the trees in the direction he thought she'd gone. After a few minutes he caught sight of her blonde hair and blue shirt.

"Juliet." He jogged up to meet her. As he got closer he noticed the slump in her shoulders, the redness around her eyes, and the decidedly less optimistic air she had about her than the last time he'd seen her. "You ok?" He asked.

Juliet stopped walking and looked at him. She didn't know what to say. Sawyer didn't like her. He maybe even hated her. She knew that. She appreciated his effort at getting along with each other, but she knew she'd be kidding herself if she thought for one second that he cared about what she'd just seen.

Sawyer watched her vacant expression for any sign of emotion. He could tell it was there, below the surface, but she was quickly covering it up. He ran a hand through his long hair. "Thought I oughta check on ya after the flashes." He said. "Wouldn't want ya gettin' caught by other others again."

Juliet's emotionless mask was firmly in place, but she gave him a small smile. "Thanks." She said. "I was just heading back."

"Did something happen?" He asked. He knew the face of a woman who'd been crying.

"Just my past catching up with me." She replied. "We should get going."

They headed back to camp together.

Sawyer glanced at Juliet occasionally as they walked. Neither said a word. He was pretty sure he didn't hate her anymore. He couldn't say he liked her either, but something was changing. Maybe she wasn't a cold hearted bitch after all. He found that she intrigued him and he wanted to know more. Starting with what she'd seen during that flash.

They reached camp and he watched as she filled her hands with water from the creek to wash her face. He wasn't sure what was happening to them or what would happen, but he did know he was beginning to see Juliet Burke in a new light.


End file.
